20 Good Reasons
by SingularToast
Summary: Collection of short, unrelated Puckleberry drabbles. #7 - Smart phones are still manually operated
1. Not Yet

**Title:** Not Yet  
**Pairing/Characters:** Puck and Rachel  
**Rating/Warnings:** K+ for one curse.  
**Summary:** Third time wasn't the charm, but Puck has always been determined. Just a little something written for the prompt "Don't do that" at the **PuckRachel** drabble meme.  
**Spoilers:** Nope.  
**Disclaimer:** _Glee_ does not belong to moi.

* * *

They both just stood there. If they had thought time stood still while they waited, it was nothing compared to the agonisingly slow beat of this moment. But all he could do was stare, and stare, and stare a little bit more.

Nothing.

"Well, shit," he muttered, running a hand over his shaved head before laughing nervously.

But while he may have been able to recover the use of his mouth and senses, she just stood there, still. He kinda didn't know what to do. The last two times had been alright. Like, sure, they'd been disappointed and all, but they'd shrugged it off, and Puck had made her laugh by pointing out the benefits of the situation. Namely, being able to try again. And again. And she hadn't complained, not once.

He supposed that in the back of their minds had been that age-old saying, 'Third time's the charm'. He'd kinda forgotten the other one, 'Bad things come in threes'.

And it looked like Rachel couldn't just shrug this one off like she had the other times.

"Babe?" He asked softly, touching her shoulder.

That was when he saw it. It was barely there, not at first, but he'd been paying so close attention to her that he couldn't have missed it. The slightest tremble in her hands. Then he felt a similar one travel along her shoulders, then again in her hands.

Then he heard her shuddered breath.

"Babe," he breathed, placing both hands on her shoulders and drawing her back against him. It was if that was her undoing, because the slight tremble became a full-blown shudder, and she sniffed loudly.

This? He could deal a little better with this. An upset Rachel was easier to deal with than one who just stood still, staring blankly at the little white thing she held in her hands.

"Hey," he whispered, dropping his head down so his lips could brush against her cheek. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders he drew her even closer, rubbing a hand up and down her back soothingly. "Hey, come on, babe." Brushing a strand of hair away from her face, he said, "Talk to me. What's going on up there?"

She pulled back from his embrace slightly to look up at him, and he finally saw them. Tears were pooling quickly in her eyes, and as she tried to blink them away, they fell delicately down her cheeks. After that, they couldn't be stopped.

"Oh, babe," he said hoarsely, pulling her in quickly and cradling her head against his chest. "Don't do that. Don't cry. It's alright. We'll just keep trying yeah?"

He could have cheered when she finally talked. "But, Noah …" Her voice was soft and broken, catching in her throat. "It just _hurts_."

He had to close his eyes against the pain those words brought him.

"It's just … we've been trying for a while now, and … I just wish …" She sniffed loudly and buried her head against his chest, and he felt her tears quickly soaking through his shirt.

"I know, I know." What could he say? Rubbing her back, pressing kisses against her temple and the crown of her head, he murmured, "We'll just keep trying, alright? I'm not gonna give up. We can totally do this." Pushing her shoulders slightly so she'd look up at him, he looked her right in the eye and told her, "This was just practise for my little swimmers, alright? They're running a marathon, babe, and it's tough work. But they're totally going to get on up in there and make you big, fat, and knocked up? Okay?"

She smiled. In fact, she raised a hand to wipe away the tears that still fell and softly chuckled at him, shaking her head.

"There's my girl," he said proudly, cupping her cheek. "I got this, okay? We're gonna get you good and pregnant. In fact …" Snatching the pregnancy test she still held out of her hands, he tossed it over his shoulder and bent down to scoop her up into his arms, making her squeal loudly.

"Noah! What are you—?"

"We're gonna try again right now. No time to waste."

The tears hadn't quite dried, but he was damn happy to hear her laughter all the way back to their bed.


	2. Good Reception

**Title:** Good Reception

**Rating:** K+ for some language

**Summary:** Another little something written for the prompt "They don't want to believe we can be real cuz they know we'd be forever" at the **PuckRachel** drabble meme.

* * *

"Okay, okay, quiet down everyone. Hey … hey, knock it off!"

A few people in the hall continued talking, but by that point the majority of their guests had finally shut up and turned around to face him.

Clearing his throat, Puck grinned unabashedly at everyone and said, "Right, thanks. So, anyway, I was supposed to have a toast all written up for like, weeks. No joke, that lovely lady you see sitting here next to me has been riding my ass about it ever since this whole thing started." Looking down at the tiny brunette sitting beside him, who was blushing furiously and shaking her head in embarrassment, Puck winked at her before continuing. "But you all know me pretty well, so you should all know that I hate planning this kind of shit. If it doesn't come from, you know, the heart, then it doesn't mean as much, right?"

All around the room people were chuckling quietly or smiling at his predictably terrible language, but most were also nodding slowly in agreement. Ha, and she thought he'd need to write this stuff down.

"So the way I see it, I had to wing this to really get it right." Turning to his right, Puck smiled down at the beautiful woman sitting there, not realising that his expression softened and his gaze warmed as he looked at her.

She noticed though. It was impossible to miss if you knew what you were looking for.

"Rachel, baby, you're amazing. You're short, and crazy, and have lungs the size of mountains, and you know way too many words, but how does that whole saying go? You're supposed to love someone 'cause of their flaws, not in spite of them?" Rachel nodded her head, just once, as she smiled up at him. "Yeah, well, I love you for all that and more. You believed in me babe, more than I believed in myself. And it's not like there was anything wrong with me before—"

That glib comment elicited more than a few chuckles from the seated crowd in front of them.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up. There wasn't anything wrong with me before, but you just made me better somehow. But even if I'm wrong and haven't actually changed a bit since sixteen, it doesn't matter. My life's totally better, all because I've got you in it."

Reaching down to clasp her left hand in his, his thumb brushed over one very important gold-clad finger. Watching as she wiped away a few stray tears with her other hand, Puck smiled softly at her and winked again, making her laugh in response.

"I dunno if you remember, but ages ago, years ago, I once said that people don't want to believe we can be real 'cause they know we'd be forever. I was right, babe, 'cause now we totally are forever."

Biting her lip, Rachel stood up abruptly and flung her arms around his shoulders, holding him tight, not caring that the movement was probably crushing her several-thousand-dollar white dress in the process. "I love you," she whispered in his ear as their friends and family stood and cheered for the newly married couple.

"Love you too, babe."


	3. It's Great, Huh?

**Title: **It's Great, Huh?

**Rating:** K+ for one cuss

**Summary:** Puck's the frst to find out Rachel's gotten into University.

* * *

"_I got in!_" Was his only warning before a soft little body threw itself at him.

Stumbling forward into his open locker when the little brunette flung herself at his back, wrapping her arms around his neck and shoulders, Puck grunted loudly. "Ge'off me, Rach," he grumbled, tugging at her hands that were clenched tight against his shoulder.

The way she was hanging, her feet didn't even touch the ground. If he wasn't choking slightly, he'd have laughed.

"I got in! Noah, I got in!"

Finally he managed to unlock her grip on his body and let her drop back to her feet. Turning to face her, trying to look as casual as possible after being tackled and choked by a midget in the middle of the school hallway, he crossed his arms and quirked an eyebrow at her. Apparently that was all she needed to launch into an explanation.

"I got into the music program! I'm officially taking the final leap in my quest for stardom, and at no other University than—"

"Wait, wait," Puck said, holding up his hands to stop her talking. "You mean some University somewhere actually accepted your crazy ass? Did you bribe them or something? Probably threatened to sing to them, right?"

Watching as her eyes immediately narrowed, Puck couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face. "Actually, not one but _three_ Universities accepted my outstanding application, and yes, I did sing during my auditions, but only at their _request_." Glaring at him, she said confidently, "You might joke now, but you'll miss me when I'm gone, Noah."

He had to laugh outright at that one. "Miss you? You kidding? I'll throw you a fucking going away party if it means getting rid of your short-ass!"

"Oh please, deny it all you want, I _know_ you enjoy our little chats."

"About as much as I'd enjoy a hole in the head," he quipped, grinning and leaning back against his locker.

Sniffing haughtily, she simply replied, "If you say so, Noah. Now, if you'll _excuse_ me, I have to spread the good news to people who will actually appreciate the joy I'm feeling right now."

He would have believed he'd actually managed to piss her off if she hadn't then smiled brilliantly at him, softly repeating, 'I got in!' before dashing off.

Shaking his head, Puck turned back to his locker and leaned in close, using the cover of the metal door to hide the shock he'd felt at her words.

So, Rachel got accepted to some big University. Knowing her, it was probably Julliard or NYU or something. She'd always wanted to take New York by storm, and while he had never doubted her talent he'd secretly kinda hoped that she wasn't really as gifted as they all thought she was. Maybe they were all just so terrible that even someone who was just _okay_ looked freaking fantastic in comparison.

That way she wouldn't leave.

"Dude," said a voice behind him, and Puck schooled his features into a bored expression before looking at Finn.

"What?"

"Why d'you have to bring her down all the time?" Poor Finny D actually looked concerned.

Puck scoffed. "Dude, stress less. Berry and I do this shit all the time, trading barbs or whatever. She doesn't care, she's totally used to it."

Looking doubtful, he friend slowly said, "I suppose … She actually got in though. That's awesome. She's been talking about going there for months you know. Now it's actually happening! Awesome, huh?"

Somehow his heart seemed to sink even lower at those words. Yeah, awesome. Berry was leaving this God-forsaken shithole for good, leaving all of them behind. Leaving him behind. "Yeah, s'great."


	4. Any Excuse Will Do

**Title: **Any Excuse Will Do

**Rating: **T

**Summary:** My mind met the gutter when I saw this prompt at the **PuckRachel** drabble meme: "Puck and Rachel don't know each other. Puck spills a drink on Rachel (at a bar, at a sporting event, waiting tables at Applebee's, you choose). "

* * *

"Get me out of here," she murmured in his ear. She couldn't hold out any more. Her cheeks flushed red as he turned his head to look at her, but she held his gaze regardless. They'd been flirting for the better part of an hour now, and her hand had been on his thigh for at least half that time. Every time he shifted in his seat his knee brushed against her bare leg, and Rachel swore she was about to go crazy from wanting this man.

His eyes, now trained on her face, seemed to darken the longer he looked at her. She had no doubt that he wanted her too. He'd told her as much, multiple times, and that too had only made her predicament worse.

"You sure, babe?" He murmured, and if anything that only helped to make up her mind. Any other guy she could have bumped into in here would have grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out of the nightclub. But not Noah—sorry, Puck.

His fingers grazed against the inside of her knee – when did he move his hands? – and she shivered visibly. "God yes."

Damn him for that smirk.

Downing the rest of his drink, Puck moved to stand but Rachel threw out a hand to stop him, glancing over her shoulder at where her group of friends still stood. "Wait! You have to … I mean, we can't just …" Biting her lip, Rachel looked up at him a little wide eyed. "You can't just leave with me!"

Chuckling a little, Puck asked, "Why the hell not?"

"Because they'll _know_."

This time it was he who looked past her at the group of four girls and one gay guy who stood to the side of the nightclub, grooving in a small circle by themselves. "Babe, of course they're gonna fuckin' know." Leaning in close, he murmured in her ear, "I've been wanted to drag you outta here since I saw you. I'm pretty sure that Latina chick thinks I'm gonna eat you or something."

From the little she already knew about him, she didn't doubt that he meant the double entendre. "But can't we just … can't you make up some excuse to get me out of here?" She didn't mean to be, really she didn't, but Rachel was embarrassed. She didn't do this. She didn't go out to bars, flirt with hot, muscly men with surprisingly sexy mohawks, then ask for them to take her home. She wasn't that kind of girl.

But this man? Holy hell, for this man she would break those rules of hers. Was it wrong to wish that no one noticed her moment of weakness?

"You want me to come up with some excuse so your friends don't know you're going to get railed by a stranger you met in a nightclub?"

He needed to stop talking. Any minute now she was going to damn her reputation as a good girl and mount him right there on that bar stool. "Yes."

Puck looked down at her for a moment.

Then, without warning, his hand tilted sideways and her drink went tumbling over the edge of the bar, landing in her lap and splattering golden liquid all over her pure white dress.

"Oh my God!" She squealed, standing quickly and wiping inanely at the blossoming stain.

"There's your excuse," he muttered as he took her hand to lead her over to her friends so she could get her things. "Now please babe, let's get the fuck outta here."


	5. Parental Duties

**Title:** Parental Duties  
**Rating/Warnings:** G  
**Summary:** A glimpse of married life for Puck and Rachel on their daughter's sixth birthday. Written for a photo prompt at the **PuckRachel**drabble meme.

* * *

Putting the last of the paper plates in the bin and swiping the spoons into the sink with a clatter, Rachel closed her eyes and made herself relax, loosening the tension in her shoulders. It was the end of her daughter's sixth birthday party and everyone was slowly packing up, making their goodbyes and heading home. Only a few of Abigail's friends from day care and their parents were left, and they as well as Rachel's own friends were helping her clear everything away while the children spent their last few moments together playing in the sun.

"Rachel," Quinn called, poking her head around the corner and waving melted birthday candles in the air. "Where do these go?"

"Oh, give them here, I'll put them away in the cupboard." Walking over to her friend, she took a moment to stand with the blonde by the back door and look out at everyone.

Artie and Finn were playing a mock game of basketball with Abigail, two five year old boys and her best friend from day care while Mike and Tina were sitting quietly to the side, Mike bouncing their giggling six month old daughter on his knee. Mercedes and Kurt were standing by the barbeque chatting to Noah while he cleaned off the hot plate, and Sam was slowly picking up the little pink bowls Rachel had used to serve the birthday cake.

"You'll be doing all this soon," she murmured, looking sideways at Quinn who was staring out at everyone with a very serene expression on her face.

Lifting her hands to cradle her swollen belly, Quinn chuckled softly and said, "I'm still trying to organise the nursery! Sixth birthdays are far from my mind right now."

"Excuse me, ladies," said Noah, grinning at them with an armful of barbeque utensils and an oily tray of uneaten food. Kissing Rachel's cheek as he walked past them and through the door, he murmured what a good job she had done in her ear and smiled warmly before disappearing into the kitchen.

Watching him walk away, Rachel didn't even notice Quinn's eyes on her until the other girl laughed. "I would never guess that the two of you have only been married eight years, not the way you always act around each other."

"I don't know if that's a good thing or not," Rachel replied, giggling.

"I swear, I get so angry with Finn sometimes, it's all I can do not to get up and just walk out of there."

But Rachel just shook her head, saying, "We're like that too. Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't happen. But we're … content. We've got each other, and this house, and Abby, and you guys. Everything's good."

Watching as her friend nodded she didn't comment on the wistful expression that crossed Quinn's face. But then the blonde's gaze sharpened and she nodded toward the back door. "Looks like everyone else is on the move."

Looking outside again to see that everyone was indeed standing up and saying their farewells, Rachel wiped her hands on her apron and followed Quinn outside to say goodbye to them all.

Several hours later when their veranda was finally clean again and they had put away as much as they could be bothered to that night, Rachel and Noah sat quietly on the couch in front of the television and let themselves zone out.

"Today went off without a hitch, babe," he murmured, leaning over to press a kiss to her temple. "You did good."

"The cake was a little dry," she replied with a grimace. "And the sausage rolls I made for you boys had too much onion in them. And—"

"Babe," Noah said seriously. "Shut up. You did great. Abby had a great time and no one said anything bad about the food. I burnt the steaks. You didn't see anyone complaining about _that_did you?"

"Well I wasn't really paying much attention to the dead animals you were serving up, so I really had no idea."

Rolling his eyes at her tart tone, Noah wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her body to his, tucking her against his side. "You're such a pain."

About to reply, an odd sound filtered down the hallway and interrupted their conversation. Looking over the back of the couch and listening carefully she could make out a soft _twang_coming from Abigail's room. "What has she gotten into now?" she muttered, getting to her feet and walking away to investigate, hearing Noah let out a resigned sigh and moving to follow closely behind her.

Opening their daughter's door, Rachel looked in to see Abby sitting down with a bright red toy guitar in her hands, brow furrowed and her tongue between her teeth as she strummed the strings.

Hearing her mother and father at the door, Abigail looked up and smiled disarmingly at the two. "Aunty Quinn gave it to me!" she exclaimed, climbing to her feet and running over to her parents, the guitar waving through the air. "Did you hear me? I was good, huh?"

"Abby," Rachel chided, crouching down to her daughter's level. "You don't say 'huh', it makes you sound silly."

"I say 'huh'," Noah commented, dropping to sit on the floor in the doorway.

"That's because you're an idiot," Rachel replied flippantly, making Abby giggle. "You know, Daddy knows how to play guitar," she told her, smiling when Abigail's face lit up at the news. "If you ask very, very nicely, he might play for you. You might even be able to perform a duet!"

"Oh Daddy, please? Please, please, please?" Abby begged, putting the toy guitar down carefully to run over to Noah, climbing onto his lap and looking up at him with pleading eyes.

Arching a brow at the two girls in front of him, Noah asked, "What do I get out of this?"

"The pleasure of spending time with your daughter of course," Rachel replied sweetly, smiling innocently at him.

"Right, while you sit down and watch Grey's Anatomy?"

"I wouldn't want to interrupt your practise."

"Uhuh." Smiling wryly at her, Noah shook his head and looked down at his daughter. "Alright runt, get your guitar and I'll get mine, and we can play in the lounge room."

That wiped the smile off her face. "But I can't watch tv if you're going to be in there making a racket."

"What a shame," he replied impishly, getting to his feet again just as Abigail rushed out the door, giggling excitedly, the bright red guitar clutched tightly in her little hands.


	6. Bad GirlFriend

**_Title:_**_ Bad (Girl)Friend_

**_Rating:_**_ PG_

**_Summary: _**_"Suddenly I feel like all we've done this summer is have sex."_

* * *

Rachel dropped heavily into the seat next to him. When Noah didn't immediately ask her what was wrong, she sighed loudly and kicked a foot out to hit the coffee table. From the corner of her eye, she could see he glanced up at her, but still didn't say anything.

Until, "Alright, what's wrong?"

"It's Santana!" She said. "I'm sorry that we already have plans on Saturday, really I am, but she can't then turn around and blow everything out of proportion just because she's upset!"

Switching the game to mute, Noah sat up and finally looked away from the television. "So, what'd she say?"

Tossing her phone onto the empty seat next to her, Rachel leaned back against the couch cushions. "She said we have 'bailed' on every single outing she's organised since the start of break."

Noah shrugged. "We have."

Twisting to glare at him, Rachel said, "We have not! What about that little luncheon thing we had to celebrate her birthday?"

"One, that was last month, and two, that was here."

"But we didn't cancel it, did we!"

"Babe." Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, Noah drew her against his side. "What about the barbeque she had last week?"

"Well ..." Thinking back, Rachel blushed. "You were thoroughly distracting me in the shower when we were supposed to leave."

"Right. You called her and said you had the flu." Smirking, he added, "And 'cause I made you scream yourself hoarse, you sounded pretty convincing."

Feeling her whole body flush at the memory, she tried to hurry on with their conversation. "What about that night at the bar down the street?"

Noah laughed. "We left after like, half an hour." He pinched her side. "Something about liking the way my ass looked in those jeans?"

Her blush deepening, Rachel struggled to think of another instance so she could prove Santana wrong. "We went shopping! Two weeks ago, she was going to meet us at the mall and—"

But Noah was already shaking his head. "You were trying on those little bikinis and there was no way I wasn't taking you home right there and then. I had to text her and tell her you couldn't make it."

"Oh." She couldn't believe it. Four weeks had passed since summer started and she hadn't managed to spend more than half an hour with one of her best friends? Frowning, Rachel crossed her arms and sighed. "Suddenly I feel like all we've done this summer is have sex."

She didn't have to see his face to know how happy Noah was about that. "Well, let's not break tradition then …"


	7. Smart Phone-d

**Title: **Smart Phone-d

**Rating:** PG

**Summary: **_Smart_ phones are still manually operated.

* * *

"'_Sup."_

Considering how furious she already was, that carefree, casual, utterly relaxed greeting was _not_ the correct way to start this conversation. "'Sup? 'Sup? That's all you can say to me right now?"

"_What? Who—"_

And to think, she had truly thought he was the one. She'd been imagining white picket fences and two-point-five children, all while he'd been sleeping with his secretary! And now he had the nerve to just say _'sup!?_ "I don't believe this. Santana's right, you really are just a lying, cheating asshole. I can't believe I wasted all this time on you."

"_Hang on, you—"_

"No, I'm not listening to any more of your excuses." Maybe, Rachel had thought, just maybe it had been a lie. Maybe his workmate hadn't really seen what she thought she had seen. Maybe it was all just some big funny mix-up. She had been warned about him, but she thought maybe she would be different. Well, no more of that. "We are through, Nick, you hear me? Through!"

"_Babe, hold up a second."_

Since when had he called her 'babe'? "I'm not your 'babe', any longer."

"_No, seriously, shut up a sec'."_

How dare he! "Excuse me—"

"_Fuck, just let me talk, would you?"_ He paused, probably to see if she would actually listen to his request. _"You have the wrong number."_

"I most certainly—" Rachel froze. Pulling her phone away from her ear and glancing at the screen, she stood still for a very uncomfortable moment as she realised he – whoever he was – was speaking the truth. "Good grief," she whispered, her face heating as mortification swept through her. "I am so, so sorry. Truly. I just … you see … I am so sorry."

He was laughing. Oh God, kill her now. But as she listened, putting aside her anger long enough to hear the man she was talking to, it was obvious it wasn't Nick. This guy had a similarly smooth voice, but his laugh was different. Heartier, a little more open.

Definitely sexy.

Rachel mentally scolding herself for that thought.

"_It's fine,"_ the guy said in between chuckles. _"What's your name anyway?"_

"Rachel," she said, a little shy now.

"_Hey Rachel, I'm Puck. Do me a favour?"_

Puck? Who had a name like Puck? "What's that?"

"_Kick that cheating dickhead's ass, ok?"_

Smiling for what felt like the first time in days, Rachel nodded. That was definitely something she could do. "Sure."

"_Great. And when you've done that, give me another call."_

Her smile broadened even as Puck hung up before saying goodbye, and Rachel found she wasn't as angry anymore.


End file.
